Two Bills Drive

‘As exciting as the Jets’ two fourth-quarter comebacks have been, the team realizes the Houdini act can’t last forever. Late game rallies may work against a couple of hapless opponents like the Packers and Patriots, but not the 2-0 Buffalo Bills. When Buffalo comes to the Meadowlands Sunday, both squads’ unblemished records will be on the line as will sole possession of the AFC East. The Jets know that to leave with a "W," they have to arrive before the final 15 minutes. "We need to get off to an early start," center Kevin Mawae said. "We can’t wait around until the fourth quarter and hope for another come-from-behind victory. We need to come out in the first quarter and establish our game plan and the running game and get things going."’

‘The twist here is that, through two games, the Jets have gotten away with being inept in several key areas of special teams. But it’s eminently clear that the time bomb’s about to explode unless major improvement is made.’

‘While casually recounting his comeback from the strained right leg that nearly kept him out of Monday night’s game, Wayne Chrebet yesterday revealed that he spent time in the trainer’s room last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This raised a significant question about the Jets’ integrity since they announced that Chrebet’s injury occurred in Saturday’s practice. And even then, his injury wasn’t announced until late in the day Saturday. “It happened on Friday,” Chrebet said of the injury. “I was in (the trainer’s room) on Friday from one to 6:30, then spent about six hours on Saturday and I was in there too on Sunday. All told, I think it was about 15 hours (in the trainer’s room). “I told them (the coaches) the day (the injury occurred) that I was going to be OK. I told (Al Groh) I wasn’t going to miss this game for anything.” Chrebet went on to have a heroic game, catching two fourth-quarter TDs, including the game winner. As for the Jets, it appears they deliberately withheld injury information, which is an NFL violation. Chrebet should have been on the injury report by the end of the day Friday or at least Saturday.’

‘As a nickname, it doesn’t have the rip-roaring imagery of the Fearsome Foursome, the Purple People Eaters, the Steel Curtain or the Big Blue Wrecking Crew. When the Buffalo Bills send in 310-pound Pat Williams to join 330-pound Ted Washington as defensive tackles in run-stopping situations, they refer to the titanic twosome as "The Package." They deliver. "You put those 300-plus pounders right there and they pretty much shut everything down," Packers coach Mike Sherman said last Sunday after the Bills limited Green Bay to 40 yards rushing. That was one week after the Bills held Eddie George and the Tennessee Titans to 53 yards on the ground.’

‘After spending the last couple of seasons chasing Bills diminutive quarterback Doug Flutie, you would think Jets linebacker Mo Lewis might be relieved to be staring down Rob Johnson instead when Buffalo comes to Giants Stadium tomorrow with both teams 2-0 atop the AFC East. Not so fast, considering Johnson is no slowpoke himself. "He’s a good quarterback and brings a lot to their team," Lewis said yesterday. "Flutie had to create his own throwing lanes, but Rob doesn’t have to do that. That’s one of the advantages for him." Indeed, Johnson stands tall in the pocket at 6-4 and 215 pounds, while the 5-9 Flutie had to be more creative to see through the mass of humanity in front of him in the trenches. Still, Lewis came to respect Flutie as "a tough competitor," although he prefers not to discuss the blind-side block the little guy cut him down with on a reverse last season during the Jets’ 17-3 loss at Ralph Wilson Stadium. "I know what you’re getting at," Lewis said when asked about his most vivid memory of Flutie. Then he smiled and walked away, refusing to bite.’

‘Consistency on offense was atop Al Groh’s agenda Friday. But Al, how about the second and third quarters against New England on Monday? In a seven-possession span, the Jets went three-and-out three times and managed merely four first downs. Oh, that’s not quite the type of consistency you’re looking for, is it? "We need to sharpen up that consistency today," the Jets coach said before Friday’s practice at Hofstra. "That’s got to be our emphasis point today. To be more consistent and put good plays back-to-back." The Jets did that Monday, but only in the first and fourth quarters.’

‘In this age of the salary cap and unfettered free agent movement, the Bills are refreshing throwbacks. The franchise, wedged into the far west corner of New York, across the falls from Ontario, Canada, still operates with this basic philosophy: Draft good football players, nurture them and keep them as long as you can. Before the Bills traded for Denver kick returner Chris Watson before the final cutdown, they didn’t have a single player on the roster who played for another NFL team in 1999. The result is a lot of victories.’

‘Quarterback Rob Johnson has developed tendinitis in the elbow of his right (throwing) arm. The Bills don’t think it’s serious enough to put him on the injury list, and they expect him to start Sunday. But his condition does bear watching. Johnson was in obvious pain as he threw during warm-up drills in practice Thursday. After one throw, he was bent over clutching his elbow. After practice, coach Wade Phillips downplayed Johnson’s tendinitis. "He’s always had that," Phillips said. "He had it last year. It hasn’t been a concern for us or him. It’s not like (Green Bay’s Brett) Favre, but it’s similar. It gets sore sometimes when he throws the football, so he ices it down. He obviously didn’t have a problem in the game." "I’ve taken a couple of hits on my elbow," Johnson said. "I’ve got some scabs there, so it’s been a little more tender than it has before. But I’ll be all right. It’s just something I’ll have to deal with."

Johnson added that his tendinitis usually flares up if his arm isn’t completely warm, but improves once the arm loosens up.’

‘Just check the current special-teams rankings: Kickoff returns: 29th…Punt returns: 29th…Kickoff coverage: 16th…Punt coverage: 30th.’

‘This week, there’s a little more juice involved for Jones. Not only are the Jets (2-0) playing the Bills (2-0) for first place in the AFC East, but Jones is going against one of his successors at Florida State. Sam Cowart, who leads the Bills with 28 tackles, modeled himself after Jones when he joined the Seminoles. "Everybody wanted to be like Marvin," Cowart said. "He was the best collegiate linebacker I’ve ever seen. He told me that we ran the same things at Florida State that they do in the pros. They just call them different things." Jones said facing Cowart’s team means, "You’ve got to try to outplay the young guy. We know in a game like this, if it turns out to be a defensive game, whatever team’s linebackers play the best, that’s who’s going to win."’

‘A scenario laid out in another newspaper had Ralph Wilson, the 82-year-old owner of the Buffalo Bills, selling the team for about $500 million (U.S.) to put his estate in order and deal with the inheritance tax issue now, instead of post mortem. It made it sound as though Godfrey was about a week away from loading up a satchel full of Rogers’ dough, shuffling off to Buffalo and returning with the Bills, who would soon be playing home games at SkyDome. Bills officials are shaking their heads over that one. Even Godfrey described the story as "highly speculative," adding, "I wouldn’t get too excited about the Bills packing their helmets and shoulder pads and moving down the QEW to Toronto. I wouldn’t bet the family fortune on moving Buffalo. The Bills are there until at least 2004. Nobody (from Toronto) is looking at the Bills with great lust." Scott Birchtold, who handles publicity for the Bills, said the scenario was so unlikely that nobody from the team wanted to comment on it. But he did say it’s just the latest story that had somebody taking the team out of Buffalo. "This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Those kind of stories upset Mr. Wilson a great deal, because I don’t think he has any intention of selling the team," said Birchtold. "He absolutely loves this football team. The last time there was a story like that in the Buffalo News it upset Mr. Wilson so much he wrote a letter to the editor about it."’

‘Buffalo Bills tailback Antowain Smith has a suggestion for his coaches to get the team’s stalled running game in gear: Quit making him run with a fullback…Smith suggests that a problem that plagued the Bills last season still exists: the telegraphing of running plays because of established personnel combinations that offensive coordinator Joe Pendry favors. Smith, who is never thrown to, is Buffalo’s designated tailback in all two-back alignments, which is akin to saying a run’s coming. Jonathan Linton and Shawn Bryson operate as pass-catching, single-set backs with the element of surprise. Smith, a powerful 6-2, 228 pounds, would like that role. He said he prefers to run without a lead blocker because he can hit the holes faster and read where those holes are more clearly. "Running the ball as a single back, you get to the hole a little faster because you just go," Smith said. "With a fullback in front of you, you have to be more patient and cut off (his block). There’s a difference. If you’re an athlete, of course you have to let your instincts take over when running the ball. But you also have reads to make, and sometimes your reads are more clear as a single back."’

‘"It’s just that as the season goes on, we’ve thrown a lot and you get tendinitis," said Johnson. "I’ve taken a couple of hits on my elbow and I’ve got some scabs there, so it’s been a little more tender than it was before. But I’ll be all right, it’s just something that I’ll have to deal with it."’

‘And now on Sunday, the Jets face what Coach Al Groh fears could be the finest defensive team in the league. The Bills were first in the league last season, and so far third this year.’

‘"This is the best linebacking corps we’re going to face all year," running back Jonathan Linton said. "They bring a lot of heat." So do the Bills’ linebackers, led by another former Florida State star, Sam Cowart, who already has 28 tackles and is being hyped as one of the best young linebackers in the NFL. Cowart and Jones never played together in college, but Jones served as a chaperone on Cowart’s recruiting visit. Asked how Jones sold him on the school, Cowart cracked yesterday: "He helped sell me by leaving (school), because he left a year early. "I’m from Florida, and all we get on TV are Florida State and Florida, so I couldn’t help but watch him," Cowart said. "He’s a great linebacker. He’s one of the best players ever to put on a Florida State uniform." Jones, who will be inducted tonight into the Florida State sports Hall of Fame, wants to teach Cowart a lesson Sunday. ("I have to outplay the young guy," he said.)’